Acknowledgement
by Temari 88
Summary: - "A loud cheering assaulted them: thousands and thousands of people were there, all waving at the two." -


_Hi everyone! :D_

_When I started writing this, I had a completely different idea... but the story just wrote itself, and I simply went on writing even if it had nothing to do with the original idea... :P_

_As it came out, this is a short something taking place in very recent chapters of Shippuden: 448-449-450 more or less; in other words: __**SPOILERS**__! You've been warned XP_

_All in all, I quite like this: I always wandered what it would have been like for Naruto, to live an experience similar to the one Gaara did when they brought him back after his revival... and well, chapter 450 answered my question! :P_

_**Disclamer:**__ I own nothing..._

_Read&Review!_

_Ja ne,  
Temari 88 XD_

* * *

**ACKNOWLEDGMENT****  
**_**by Temari 88**_

-x-

_"__I want to believe in you, Naruto, just like our sensei did… I leave the rest up to you"_

-x-

Pein was dead. _Nagato_ was dead.

The head of the Akatsuki organization was gone: he had sacrificed himself to restore the ones that had died to defend the village he had destroyed. After so many years of hate and grief, after a lifetime of declared war against Konoha, all it took him to change his convictions had been a conversation – no yelling, no taunting, no joking – somehow like friends do when they have something on their mind, and they need to talk about it to rid themselves of it.

Nagato had been amazed by the strength, the sheer will power Naruto possessed; the master of the Six Paths had thought it impossible to ever hear the answer he had craved for as long as he could remember, since he had heard his old master tell him about his dream… the thought had plagued his all life yet he hadn't been able to find an answer.

All it took had been a talk with his fellow pupil. It seemed a bad joke that those two people had both been Jiraya's students. They had both suffered a lot – by the same hands, in a way – yet they had grown up to become complete opposites… where Pein believed in destruction and grief, Naruto believed in building relationships through faith and empathy.

And, in the end, Naruto had managed to convince Nagato; to have him have faith in the blond ninja like everybody who got to know him did.

-x-

As Naruto stood there, where just a few minutes back he had faced Nagato, he could feel a huge weight lift from his shoulders: his friends were okay. Everyone was safe, now. The raven-haired man had revived everyone with his last technique – he could feel their chakra flow through his conscious…

He could feel the faint sting of tears as he closed his eyes. Kakashi-sensei, Shizune-nee, Ebisu, Teuchi-san, Ayame-chan… they were all _alive_… he had no need to feel awfully guilty for their deaths. _Not anymore_. His breathing came easier now.

He opened his eyes again, slapping lightly his cheeks with his hands. "Put yourself together, stupid. No need to be sad."

He turned and dashed as fast as he could toward where he felt most of his friends were gathered: he wanted to see them so badly, to make sure they were _really_ alive, because it all seemed too good to be true. If this were to prove to be a dream, it would definitely turn into a nightmare quickly and, right now, Naruto didn't think he would be able to stand it…

He had just as started going back towards the gigantic crater – he cringed at the memory – that had been Konoha, when he suddenly felt his knees give out under him: was he really that exhausted? He guessed he had to be after everything he had done in the passed few hours… Sage Mode _did_ take a large chunk of his chakra after all… and fighting three Peins was not an easy thing… and, oh yeah, the Kyuubi of course (he had almost screwed up big time there, almost realising a full fledged demon fox on an already destroyed village) and… _his father_… Naruto still couldn't believe it…

He was about to collapse against a tree, when someone caught him. Looking up, Naruto saw Kakashi smiling at him through his mask. "Just hang in there, Naruto, we'll reach the village soon; everyone's waiting for you." Naruto didn't say anything and just relaxed against the man's back.

Ten minutes later found the two just outside of what were supposed to be Konoha's Gates. As soon as Kakashi and Naruto appeared from the forest, a loud cheering assaulted them: thousands and thousands of people were there, all waving at the two.

"Welcome back, Naruto!"

"You're a hero, Naruto!"

"Naruto, you're great!"

Said teen could just stand there, unbelieving. His blue eyes were impossibly wide as he could barely take in the entire population of Konoha standing there greeting and shouting and jumping around and smiling… _at him_…

He couldn't speak; he had to _force_ the air into his lungs.

"I told them what happened…" came Katsuyu's tiny voice from the collar of his jacket where the small slug had been hiding.

People were starting to run towards him, throwing questions he could barely catch in his shocked state.

"What was he like?"

"How did you defeat him?"

Naruto found his brain refused to work properly and he just stood there, dazed and confused, until a group of ninja made their way through to him. In front of him were Sakura, Kiba, Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino, Ino, Chouji… all smiling at him with a look of pride shining in their eyes.

When Sakura stepped forward, he didn't react; she slapped him, hard.

"When will you stop being so reckless?" she shouted.

Naruto didn't even have time to register the sting on his cheek, that he found himself in a tight hug, feeling the wetness of tears on his neck.

"… _Thank you_…" came the soft whisper from the pink-haired girl.

Behind her, Naruto could see the smiles on everyone's faces grow even more, as to let him know they felt exactly like Sakura: immensely grateful and relieved that he was okay.

-x-

_"__I swear I'll become Hokage one day! And everyone will recognize and acknowledge my existence!"_


End file.
